By Yuma Ikeshita / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Toru Nakashima, president and group CEO of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. $(SMFG)$, indicated that he is aiming for the top spot in the Japanese market, based on the company's new business plan for the three years from fiscal 2026, which starts in April. "We have finally reached the point where we can seriously aim to be the leader in the domestic market and a player with a global presence," he said in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Specifically, the plan, which will be announced soon, includes global-standard financial targets and a goal of doubling membership in Olive, its personal platform for financial services, to accelerate business growth both domestically and internationally.
The following is excerpted from the interview.
The Yomiuri Shimbun: What will be your guiding principles for management over the next three years?
Toru Nakashima: In the domestic financial business, a competing financial group has an advantage in transactions with large corporations and individual deposit balances. On the other hand, our group has strengths in transactions with midsize companies and assets under management for individuals. Overall, we can say we are on par with the largest player, and I intend to make these three years a period that will allow us to proudly declare that we are "number one in the domestic business."
Yomiuri: What management metrics do you prioritize?
Nakashima: We will shift our focus from ROE -- return on equity -- to ROTE -- return on tangible equity (which indicates more substantive earning power). Currently, our ROTE stands at around 11%, but major banks in the United States and Europe are at 15%-20%. To have a global presence, you need at least 15%, so we will first aim for in between 11% and 15% over the next three years. Based on calculations, this would result in net income of around 2 trillion yen, and that is certainly within our reach.
Yomiuri: Fiscal 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the merger of Sakura Bank Ltd. and Sumitomo Bank Ltd., which led to the establishment of your group's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp $(SMBC)$.
Nakashima: Currently, our market capitalization stands at around 20 trillion yen, putting us in second (among the big three banking groups). The proportion of overseas operations in our net business profit (equivalent to operating profit) has also expanded to 30%. We are on the verge of where we can say we are number one in the domestic business and have a global presence.
Yomiuri: How will you strengthen the retail business for individual customers?
Nakashima: Olive is growing steadily, and by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2029 -- three years from now -- we aim to increase the number of accounts from 7.5 million at present to 15 million. We will also offer "wealth management" -- which supports asset management -- on the Olive platform, further advancing the digitalization of services for individual customers.
For asset management, we will establish a unified brand called "SMBC wealth" across SMBC, SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. and SMBC Trust Bank Ltd. We have established a system where Nikko employees are temporarily transferred to the bank and can sell stocks and bonds as bank employees. Savings are held at the bank, while investment products are offered by the securities firm. It is more efficient to provide them together.
Yomiuri: How will you utilize artificial intelligence?
Nakashima: We will invest 1 trillion yen in IT over three years to integrate AI into each operation and service. However, to use AI smoothly, it is essential to prepare the necessary data first. We will increase the proportion of cloud-based systems across the entire group from 10% to 50% (to make it easier for AI to access data). We will also increase the number of AI specialists leading these efforts from 300 to 1,000.
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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March 31, 2026 08:04 ET (12:04 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 The Yomiuri Shimbun
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